A glove full of bullet ants.
A kiss with a cobra.
A casual chat with Leo.
This "Jackass" spinoff was often more wild than its Johnny Knoxville-led predecessor,
but how much of "Wildboyz" was actually real, and how much was just pretend?
Stay tuned to find out.
After watching an episode of "Wildboyz," the origins of the name might sound obvious.
Chris Pontius and Steve-O are, in fact, the wild boys, as they perform outrageous stunts
with animals out in the wild.
Yet audience members might be interested in the actual thought process that went into
the decision to name the show "Wildboyz," which Pontius opened up about in a 2014 interview
with Journey of a Frontman, saying -
"For 'Wildboyz,' we were originally talking about names for the show and the stupid names.
And Dimitry Elyashkevich was like, 'I got one!'
He put on that Duran Duran song, 'The Wild Boys.'
[...] I thought we should use a Z instead of an S to make it even kookier and everyone
agreed.
I think that helped the title clear, anyway."
Though Steve-O and Chris Pontius try to be transparent with their fans when it comes
to realistic stunts and especially where they're shooting, there's one stunt in particular
that was a bit misleading.
When asked about a stunt with a lion being grabbed by the tail, Steve-O said on his podcast
"Steve-O's Wild Ride" -
"With 'Jackass' we were very, very honest, we had integrity, we never tried to deceive
the audience.
That was 'Jackass.'
But with 'Wildboyz,' we took liberties to pretend that we were in Africa when actually
we were filming in California."
For the stunt, Steve-O and Pontius were in a two-person zebra suit.
Steve-O admitted that it was not, in fact, a wild lion that they stumbled upon while
on safari in Africa, saying -
"We quickly found out that a lion in the wild on safari in Africa, you don't get in a […] zebra
suit and [...] try to play around with that thing."
Audiences might want their reality TV to be authentic, but, in the case of "Wildboyz,"
taking certain liberties shouldn't be questioned.
The fact of that matter is, the wild boys still played with a lion.
This wasn't the only time they fudged some of the details when it came to a stunt with
an animal, either.
On "Steve-O's Wild Ride," Steve-O explained -
"Every time that we filmed interacting with a lion, like every time, we were always pretending
that we were in Africa, but in fact we were in California at a place called Hollywood
Animals."
With that said, in his book "Professional Idiot: A Memoir," Steve-O wrote that every
time wild animal expert Manny Puig was with them, they were in the United States, despite
possibly claiming otherwise in the episode –– in an attempt to make a more entertaining
show.
This might come as a surprise for many audiences, but "Wildboyz" had a longer run than the "Jackass"
TV series.
The latter franchise, of course, made the jump to the big screen to the tune of four
feature films.
But before that, "Jackass" ran for three seasons and 25 episodes, while "Wildboyz" went on
a four-season run that lasted 32 episodes.
Despite the longer tenure, "Wildboyz" is a far more under-the-radar series, while "Jackass"
entered the mainstream and has stayed there with every subsequent film — in fact, "Wildboyz"
wasn't the only successful "Jackass" spinoff: "Viva La Bam," starring Bam Margera, aired
for five seasons and 40 episodes.
"Wildboyz" also featured other "Jackass" stars from time to time, including "Jackass" co-creator
Johnny Knoxville and Wee-Man.
Though "Ultimate Predator" isn't technically part of the "Jackass" universe, it was created
by Manny Puig, who appeared on "Jackass," as well as some of the "Wildboyz" excursions.
"That was the mo- the most stupidest thing I have ever seen in my life."
The film features Puig interacting with wildlife, most notably sharks.
It also brings the "Wildboyz" group back together as it features Steve-O and Chris Pontius.
So it's sort of a "Wildboyz" spinoff, just more informational — although Puig still
has encounters with dangerous animals.
That said, "Ultimate Predator" is distinctly different from "Wildboyz," as Puig routinely
educated the boys as opposed to performing absurd stunts.
Nevertheless, if you ever want to see Puig interacting with the wildlife outside of a
show as bizarre as "Wildboyz," and you also want to see Steve-O and Pontius join in on
the party, then "Ultimate Predator" is an ideal follow-up.
It's not uncommon for a famous person to rub shoulders with a fellow famous person.
It is, however, uncommon for someone to have a conversation with a random stranger and
realize later on that you were speaking with Leonardo DiCaprio.
But Chris Pontius isn't just anyone, and in addition to all of his other wild stories,
he also pulled off this feat.
When asked what his weirdest encounter with a celebrity was during a 2022 interview with
Uproxx, Pontius responded with an anecdote about an interaction he had with someone at
an event, saying -
"I talked to this guy for like an hour about animals, and all the crazy things we'd done.
[...] And then the next day, my friend's like, 'Oh, last night when you were talking to Leo...'
And I was like, 'That was Leonardo DiCaprio'?
I had no idea it was him."
The key takeaway: Chris Pontius is not one to be starstruck, and Leonardo DiCaprio is
a fan of "Wildboyz."
Further proof that it's a show with something for everyone.
Chris Pontius and Steve-O seem fearless, but "Wildboyz" fans might be surprised to discover
that Pontius isn't a fan of big cats like tigers and lions.
In an interview with IGN, Pontius detailed his distaste for the formidable felines when
asked if there are any animals he's irrationally afraid of, saying -
"I don't like big cats really at all.
[...] Cats are weird and they kind of snap.
I don't really like 'em.
Even if you have a house cat.
Or like the cat that bit Siegfried and Roy.
They've worked with these animals like their entire life, and then all of a sudden, they
just killed 'em."
Who could blame him?
Despite Pontius testing his luck with wild animals over the years, it would appear he's
able to push past his biggest fears.
He doesn't fancy big cats, yet he's not afraid to get in the ring with them.
"I hear the growling from over here, so we are getting dangerously close to the Florida
panther.
Dangerously close."
Chris Pontius has performed a myriad of outlandish stunts over the years, yet his favorite stunt
of all time is easy for him to pick — and it involved a snake.
Opening up in a 2014 Journey of a Frontman interview, Pontius said -
"I think my favorite thing I ever did period was on 'Wildboyz.'
The biggest 'overcoming your own fears' thing that I ever did was kissing a king cobra on
the head."
Typically, people don't say their favorite thing they've ever done was kissing a snake,
let alone something as deadly as the king cobra.
But Pontius isn't your average stunt performer.
He went on to admit that the opportunity came about when director Jeff Tremaine told him
the night before that they had found some guys who had access to a non de-venomized
king cobra while they were in Indonesia.
Pontius called this stunt "The Kiss Of Death," and suffice it to say, it energized him, saying -
"I touched him a few times and I started wanting to give it a kiss so I just went for it.
[...] I felt like a million bucks.
I felt just happy to be alive, really."
It's just one more example of the many ways "Wildboyz" had no issue pushing the limits,
whether a scene was scripted or not.
We're just happy that Pontius survived his favorite stunt.
Chris Pontius was made for the camera.
He's comically gifted, a natural storyteller, and he's not afraid of anything –– those
are excellent qualities to have, especially for any "Jackass" cast member.
"I'm ultra mega-dude Chris Pontius and this is my home."
Pontius, to say the least, has performed some wild stunts over the years.
Yet his most painful stunt was called "The Glove Of Ants" and it went down on "Wildboyz."
In a 2022 interview with Uproxx, Pontius recalled the experience, saying -
"It's a rite of passage for this tribe in the Amazon.
You put these ants, called bullet ants, they weave them into this glove, and when boys
come of age, you put this glove on that has hundreds of ants that have the most painful
sting of any insect."
He explained that the passage is accompanied by a shaman singing an eight minute song,
during which the ants are stinging the recipient hundreds of times.
Chris summed it up by saying -
"That was by far the worst, most painful, dreadful thing I've ever done in my life combined.
It's just like venom for 24 hours, and there's nothing you can do about it.
So yeah, that was the worst thing.
I would never do that again."
Reminder: Pontius has been in the ring with Bengal tigers, lions, snapping turtles, and
so on and so forth –– yet his most painful experience involved dealing with ants.
That's saying something.
In his book "Professional Idiot: A Memoir," Steve-O wrote about the decision to end "Wildboyz."
He recalled that the series probably could have gone more than four seasons, yet the
show had become too much like "Jackass."
Going along with that sentiment, Steve-O told the Hollywood Reporter that "Wildboyz," in
a way, spawned "Jackass Number Two."
Johnny Knoxville had previously declared that "Jackass" was over after the first movie,
but when he joined the 'Wildboyz' while they were filming in Russia, he seemed to have
re-developed the daredevil itch.
According to with Steve-O -
"We were on this trip in Russia at this counterterrorism training camp.
Knoxville says, 'Have the dog bite me and shoot me with the 9mm gun while the dog's
biting me.'
And Tremaine says to Knoxville, 'Hey, whoa, let's not do this for MTV2.
If you have that in you, let's make another movie.'
And Knoxville had it in him.
And that was Number Two."
Ultimately, the "Jackass" movies would go on to partially adopt the "Wildboyz" style,
including foreign locations and lots of animal stunts.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk has endured some brutal injuries over the years –– it
goes with the territory of being a professional daredevil.
Yet his worst injury ever actually came during an appearance on "Wildboyz."
Appearing on "Steve-O's Wild Ride," Hawk recalled the time he tested fate and attempted to complete
a loop on his skateboard for "Wildboyz."
Hawk, needless to say, didn't make it and crashed hard.
The damage?
He broke his pelvis and thumb — and he also cracked his skull.
"That one was pretty ugly and definitely life-threatening.
I hit my head really hard."
Unfortunately for Hawk, this wasn't even supposed to be his stunt.
Steve-O was supposed to perform it but had previously shattered his ankle while jumping
off a Porta-Potty.
Hawk talked about the injury during an interview with The Guardian, saying -
"That was a bummer.
Breaking your pelvis is debilitating — you can't walk, you can't cough — you just have
to sit and wait for it to heal."
All good things must come to an end, and "Wildboyz" was no exception, with the show concluding
after four seasons.
However, there's still a chance the show could return, although that should be taken with
a grain of salt.
During an Ask Me Anything on Reddit to promote "Jackass Forever," Chris Pontius and Johnny
Knoxville were inevitably asked about doing a reboot of "Wildboyz," and Pontius replied
"I would love to do a 'Wildboyz' reboot, I don't think it would be called 'Wildboyz,'
but I would love to do another nature/adventure show, and I want Knoxville to be on it with
me."
There's a chance that Pontius was trying to avoid dashing fans' hopes for a revival, especially
since he and Knoxville were promoting their new movie.
But if his words are any indication, audience members can still hold out hope for a "Wildboyz"
return — even if it comes with a different title.
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